Active cover plates

ABSTRACT

One embodiment includes a cover plate for an electrical receptacle. The cover plate includes first and second conductors that protrude rearward from the cover plate and are configured to contact terminals of a receptacle to supply power to a load associated with the cover plate. Insulators over at least a portion of the conductors inhibit the conductors from contacting other conductive materials.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part, and claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. §120, of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/145,749, filed May 3, 2016, titled “Active Cover Plates,” which is acontinuation-in-part, and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120, ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/549,143, issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,362,728, filed Nov. 20, 2014, titled “Active Cover Plates,” which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/066,621,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,035,180, filed Oct. 29, 2013, titled “ActiveCover Plates,” which is a continuation-in-part, and claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C. §120, of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/461,915, titled“Active Cover Plates”, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,912,442, filed May 2,2012, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/574,344, titled “Illuminated Cover Platewith Finger-like Contactors for Outlets and Light Switches”, filed Aug.1, 2011. Additionally, the present application claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/279,831, titled“Active Cover Plates”, filed Jan. 18, 2016. These applications arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/066,621 further claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/720,131, filed Oct. 30, 2012, titled“Active Cover Plates”; U.S. Provisional Application 61/778,386, filedMar. 12, 2013, titled “Modified Outlets for Use with Active CoverPlates”; and U.S. Provisional Application 61/836,972, filed Jun. 19,2013, titled “Modified Electrical Devices”, which applications areincorporated by reference in their entireties.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/549,143 further claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/906,651,filed Nov. 20, 2013, titled “Powered Wall Plates with Multi-functions”;U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/027,784, filed Jul. 23, 2014, titled“Active Cover Plates”; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/081,539,filed Nov. 18, 2014, titled “Active Cover Plates.” These applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Modern buildings include wiring to deliver electrical power to lights,outlets, and other devices. The connections to the electrical wiring aretypically made in electrical boxes mounted in walls, ceilings, andfloors. Outlets make connections to the electrical wiring using stab-inconnectors or with screw terminals on the sides of the outlet body.After installation, a cover plate is placed over the outlet body tocover the opening to the box while allowing access to the outletreceptacles on the face of the outlet body. Similar connections are madewhen installing switches, which are also covered with a cover plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various examples of the principlesdescribed herein and are a part of the specification. The illustratedexamples are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims.

FIGS. 1A-1C are views of an outlet and an active cover plate that fitsover the outlet body, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 2A-2D are side views of different outlet bodies to illustrate thevariability in the placement of screw terminals on the sides of theoutlet bodies, according to one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 3A-3G show examples of an active cover plate with spring clipshaving an insulated ramp portion, according to one example of principlesdescribed herein.

FIGS. 4A-4D are diagrams of an active cover plate with adjustable springclips, according to one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 5A-5D show various structures for adjusting the vertical positionof prongs on an active cover plate, according to one example ofprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 6A-6C are diagrams of an active cover plate that includes apivoting spring clip, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 7A-7D are diagrams of spring clips with multiple contacts and asliding insulator, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a spring clip with a sliding contact, accordingto one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 9A-9C describe geometries and techniques to avoid arcing betweenadjacent screw terminals on the side of an outlet, according to oneexample of principles described herein.

FIGS. 10A-10C are illustrative examples of intermediate devices thatcould form an interface between an outlet or other receptacle and anactive cover plate, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing possible locations of multiple prongs on acover plate, according to one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 12A-12D are diagrams of an active cover plate with hinged springclips, according to one example of principles described herein.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a method for connecting an active cover plateover a receptacle body according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 14A-14B show one embodiment of an adjustable spring clip,according to one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 15A-15C show various embodiments of active cover plates, springclips, and systems, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 16A-16F show various embodiments of active cover plates, springclips and systems, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 17A-17D show various views of switch receptacles, according to oneexample of principles described herein.

FIGS. 18A-18C show various views of an active cover plate for rockerswitch receptacles, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 19A-19C show various views of an active cover plate for toggleswitch receptacles, according to one example of principles describedherein.

FIGS. 20A-20C show various views of a conductive metal spring for use inactive cover plates for switch receptacles, according to one example ofprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 21A-21C show various views of a spring clips for use in activecover plates for switch receptacles, according to one example ofprinciples described herein.

FIG. 22 shows a bottom view of a rocker switch receptacle with an activecover plate placed over the receptacle, according to one example ofprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 23A-23F show various embodiments of electrical contacts on thespring clips, according to one example of principles described herein.

FIGS. 24A-24E show one embodiment of a spring clip with an asymmetricelectrical contact, according to one example of principles describedherein.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar,but not necessarily identical, elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present systems and methods. It will be apparent,however, that systems and methods may be practiced without thesespecific details. It is understood that the figures are diagrammatic andschematic representations of some embodiments of the invention, and arenot limiting of the present invention, nor are they necessarily drawn toscale. Reference in the specification to “an example” or similarlanguage means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the example is included in at least thatone example, but not necessarily in other examples.

Additionally, features shown and/or described in connection with onefigure may be combined with features shown and/or described inconnection with other figures. As used in the present specification andin the appended claims, the term “a number of” or similar language ismeant to be understood broadly as any positive number comprising 1 toinfinity; zero not being a number, but the absence of a number.

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate an outlet body (100) and connection of anactive cover plate (150) to the outlet body. In this example, the outletbody (100) is a duplex style National Electrical ManufacturersAssociation (NEMA) outlet body. The outlet body (100) includes twooutlet receptacles (115-1, 115-2). Each outlet receptacle (115) includestwo power receptacles (120) and a ground (125).

On either side of the outlet body (100) are screw terminals (105, 110).The building wiring may be connected to the screw terminals by wrappinga stripped end of the house wiring around the screw and then tighteningthe screw to sandwich the wire between the bottom of the screw and aconductive plate. There may be a first screw terminal on a first side ofthe outlet body that is connected to a neutral building wire and asecond screw terminal on the same or an opposite side of the outlet bodythat is connected to a hot building wire. For example, the left terminal(105) may be connected to the neutral building wire and the rightterminal (110) may be connected to the hot building wire. The screwterminals make internal connections to contacts within the outlet body(100). When an electrical cord is plugged into the outlet receptacle(115-1), the blades of the electrical cord enter the slots (120, 125) inthe power receptacles (115-1, 115-2) and make an electrical connectionwith the contacts. This allows current from the building wiring to passthrough the outlet body (100) and into the cord. The outlet body (100)also includes two brackets/yokes (135) to connect it to an electricalbox.

FIG. 1B shows a side view of the outlet body (100) showing the screwterminal (110). The screw terminal (110) in this example includesconductive backing plates (140, 142) and two screws (112, 114) thatthread into the backing plates (140, 142). The backing plates (140, 142)are electrically and mechanically joined by a break off tab (145). Thebreak off tab (145) can be removed to electrically isolate the firstscrew (112) and its backing plate (142) from the second screw (114) andits backing plate (140). This allows the individual outlet receptacles(115-1, 115-2) to be powered from different electrical wires/sources.The breakoff tabs (145) typically remain in place, but are removed whenmultiple higher current loads are present. This prevents one circuitfrom becoming overloaded. For example, in a kitchen, a microwave and atoaster (both have high current draw) may be plugged into the sameoutlet. Removing the break off tab (145) to create a split circuitallows the current required by the microwave to be drawn through adifferent circuit and circuit breaker than the toaster. This preventsoverloading of an individual circuit and nuisance tripping of thebreakers when both the microwave and toaster are used at the same time.

FIG. 1C shows an active cover plate (150) that is mounted over theoutlet body (100). The active cover plate (150) includes a face plate(155) and two spring clips (160) extending rearward from the face plate.In this view only one spring clip is visible, the other spring clip isdirectly opposite (see FIG. 3A for a perspective view showing bothspring clips). Each spring clip includes an electrical contact (165).When the active cover plate (150) is placed over the outlet (100), thetwo spring clips bring the electrical contacts (165) into contact withthe screw terminals (110) on either side of the outlet body (100). Thescrew terminals (110) are electrified by their connected to the buildingwiring (170, 175). Ordinarily, the electrical contacts (165) makecontact with the heads of the screws (112, 114) because the heads of thescrews (112, 114) extend away from the outlet body (100) the farthest.This allows the active cover plate (150) to extract electrical powerfrom the outlet body (100) through the spring clips (160).

Spring clips that extract electrical power from an outlet body or otherreceptacle body to power an active cover plate may have a number ofadvantages, including reliability and simplicity. However, the screwterminals may have a variety of positions on the side of the outlets.The location of the screw terminals varies according to the type ofoutlet body and the manufacturer. While dimensions on the face of theoutlet body are generally consistent, the variance in the location ofthe screw terminals on the sides of the outlet body can produce asignificant challenge in creating an active cover plate that fits mostor all of the outlets present on the market and/or installed inbuildings.

An outlet body is only one example of an electrical device that anactive cover plate could interface with. Other examples include switchbodies and electrical boxes with connections for lights, fire alarms,CAT5 cable connections, phone jacks, or other installations over or inelectrical boxes. In general, a body that a cover plate of any type fitsover is referred to as the “receptacle body.”

FIGS. 2A-2D show four different examples of outlet bodies (100, 200,220, 230) that illustrate the differences in placement of the screwterminals on the sides of the outlet bodies. FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C showside views of duplex style outlet bodies (100, 200, 220). The screwterminals show a significant amount of variability between these threeoutlet bodies (100, 200, 220). The outlet body (100, FIG. 2A) on theleft has a screw terminal (110) with two screws (112, 114). The screws(112, 114) are located slightly more than halfway down the outlet body(100). These screws (112, 114) are closer together than any of the otherscrews shown in FIGS. 2B, 2C, and 2D. An XYZ axis is shown on the lowerright of the outlet body (100) in FIG. 2A. The screws may have varyinglocation in any of the X, Y, and Z directions. Variations in the Xdirection are called vertical variations and are in the plane of theface (102) of the outlet body. Variations in the Y direction are calleddepth variations and are in the plane of the side (104) of the outletbody. FIGS. 2A-2D show both vertical and depth variations in thelocations of the screws. Variations in the Z direction (into and out ofthe page and across the face of the outlet body) are called width orhorizontal variations. Width variations can occur for a variety ofreasons. For example, the outlet bodies may have different widths orscrews may be screwed out or in on the sides of the outlet bodies. Theflexibility of the spring clips can typically accommodate a significantamount of variation in width. However, variations in the horizontal andvertical directions can be challenging to accommodate.

The outlet body (200) in FIG. 2B has a screw terminal (210) that islocated more than halfway up the side. The heads of the screws (212,214) are spaced farther apart than the screw terminals in the outletbody (100) to the left. FIG. 2C shows an outlet body (220) with a screwterminal (225) that is located even higher up the side of the outletbody (220). The screws (222, 224) have the same spacing as the outletbody in FIG. 2B. FIG. 2D is a side view of a ground fault circuitinterrupter (GFCI) outlet body (230). The screw terminals (235, 237) inthis outlet body (230) are placed farther apart and significantlyfarther back from the face of the outlet. The examples shown in FIGS.2A-2D are only examples. The screws and screw terminals can be locatedin a variety of positions on various receptacle bodies. For example, thescrew terminals on switch bodies can be in different locations than onoutlet bodies.

Thus, there can be a significant amount of variability in the locationof the screw terminals in outlet bodies that are in use and/or on sale.Where the screw terminals are not symmetrical about the centerline, thescrews will be at a different location with respect to the electricalbox and cover plate depending on the orientation of the outlet body. Forexample, if the outlet body were installed right side up, the screwterminals would be at a first vertical height and if the outlet bodywere installed upside down the screw terminals would be at a differentvertical height.

Creating an active cover plate that has the capability to reliablyconnect to a wide range of outlet bodies can be a significant challenge.An additional complication is that the screws in the screw terminal maybe screwed out or in. This can significantly change the width that theprongs of the active cover plate have to open. As discussed above, thereare at least three different types of adjustability that could bedesirable in active cover plate prongs: vertical adjustability (in the Xdirection) to accommodate outlet bodies that are at different heights onthe outlet body, depth adjustability (in the Y direction) to accommodatescrew terminals that are at different depths from the face of the outletbody, and width adjustability (in the Z direction) to accommodate screwterminals that have varying widths.

FIGS. 3A-3F show one example of active cover plate (300) with springclips (310, 312) that are adjustable vertically and in width. FIG. 3A isa rear perspective view of the active cover plate (300) for a “decora”style outlet body. The active cover plate (300) includes a face plate(315) with an aperture (332) through which the outlet receptacles in theoutlet body are accessible. The active cover plate (300) also includesspring clips (310, 312) and a sandwich plate (330). The spring clips(310, 312) include a compliant conductive portion (335) with one endthat is sandwiched between the face plate (315) and the sandwich plate(330). In this example, a rectangular rivet (340) and a non-conductiveportion (305) are connected to an opposite terminal end of the compliantconductive portion (335). The spring clips (310, 312) and sandwich plate(330) could be fastened to the face plate (315) using a number oftechniques, including heat staking, cold pressing, or using fastenersthat are pressed over the posts (320). When placed over an outlet body,the rivets/electrical contacts (340) on the spring clips (310, 312)contact the electrified screw terminals on the sides of the outlet bodyto extract power from the building wiring/outlet body. Although thisactive cover plate (300) is only illustrated with two opposing springclips (310, 312), an active cover plate may have any number of springclips.

FIGS. 3B and 3C are rear views of the active cover plate (300) with thespring clips (310, 312) in different vertical locations. For purposes ofillustration the sandwich plate (330, FIG. 3A) has been removed to showthe interior components. Wires (344) connected to the spring clips (310,312) are routed through the wire brackets (346) to a load. The load caninclude any electrical device that requires power. For example, the loadcan include an electrical device embedded within the active cover plate(300). For example, the load can include lights, motion detectors,photocells, wireless nodes, blue tooth connectors, smoke detectors,carbon monoxide detectors, cameras, heat detectors, speakers,microphones, charging circuits or any other desired electrical device.In this example, the load is a circuit board (342) that includes threelight emitting diodes (LED) that shine downward and out of the faceplate. LEDs can produce high intensity light with less power thanconventional light sources. In particular, LEDs convert a higherpercentage of input power to light and a lower percentage to heat orother waste.

The face plate (315) includes a number of molded posts (348-1, 348-2,348-3, 348-4 and 348-5) that extend rearward. The vertical location ofthe spring clips (310, 312) can be adjusted by selecting which of theposts the spring clips are placed over. In the configuration shown inFIG. 3B the spring clips are mounted to the second post (348-2) and thethird post (348-3). This position allows the active cover plate (300) tomake secure electrical connections with an outlet body in a firstconfiguration (for example, an outlet body that is installed right sideup).

In the second configuration shown in FIG. 3C, the active cover plate(300) has both of the spring clips (310, 312) in a lower verticalposition, with the spring clips (310, 312) mounted on the third post(348-3) and fourth post (348-4). This position allows the active coverplate (300) to make secure electrical connections with an outlet body ina second configuration (for example, an outlet body that is installedupside down). Alternatively, the spring clips' vertical positions couldbe adjusted to accommodate different designs of outlet bodies. The otherposts, the first (348-1) and fifth posts (348-5) may be used to connectthe sandwich plate (330, FIG. 3A) to the face plate (315) and/or forfurther adjustability of the spring clips.

FIGS. 3D-3G are additional views of a spring clip (312) that could beused in conjunction with the cover plate shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIGS.3D, 3E, and 3F are front perspective, side, and rear perspective viewsof an illustrative spring clip, respectively. FIG. 3D shows a frontperspective view of a spring clip (312) that includes a conductiveportion (335) and a non-conductive portion (305). The non-conductiveportion (305) has a main ramp (352), side wings (354), and terminalcurve (350). The non-conductive portion (305) may have a variety ofpurposes including preventing the conductive portion (335) fromundesirably contacting wires, the electrical box, or other materials.

The non-conductive portion (305) of the spring clip (312) can be formedfrom a variety of insulating materials, including polymers, ceramic,composite materials, or other material. In this example, thenon-conductive portion is formed from a flexible resilient polymermaterial such as nylon. The non-conductive portion (305) can be formedin a variety of ways, including injection molding.

In this example, the non-conductive portion (305) is attached to theterminal end of the conductive portion (335) by the rivet (340).Additionally or alternatively, a number of other techniques can be usedto attach the non-conductive portion (305) to the conductive portion(335). For example, the non-conductive portion (305) may be joined tothe conductive portion (335) by adhesive, heat welding, press fit, snapfit, induction welding (for specific types of materials), ultrasonicwelding/staking, and other suitable techniques. These techniques can beused separately or in combination. For example, the rivet joint may besupplemented with molded features on the non-conductive portion. Asdiscussed above, the riveted connection between the non-conductiveportion and conductive portion has a number of advantages, includingusing the head of the rivet (340) as a contact point and the swaging ofthe rivet (340) into/over a hole in the conductive portion (335) toensure that there is a reliable electrical connection between the rivet(340) and the conductive portion (335) (see e.g. FIG. 3F).

The non-conductive portion (305) can serve a variety of functions. Asdiscussed above, the non-conductive portion (305) includes an angled endportion or a main ramp (352), a terminal curve (350) and two side wings(354) that extend to either side of the central portion of the springclip (312). The non-conductive portion (305) serves as a guide thatdirects the active cover plate into accurate positioning over anoutlet/switch body. Where there are opposing spring clips, the angledramp (352) guides and centers the active cover plate (300, FIG. 3A) overthe outlet/switch body. In situations where an active cover plate (300,FIG. 3A) is misaligned or has less clearance, the non-conductive portion(305) may contact the wall of an electrical box. The terminal curve(350, FIG. 3D) ensures that the spring clip (312) glides smoothly alongthe wall. The spring force of the conductive portion (335) and rampgeometry of the non-conductive portion (305) gently guides the activecover plate (300, FIG. 3A) into place with increasing accuracy as theactive cover plate (300, FIG. 3A) is pushed closer to its finalposition.

The non-conductive portion (305) is contoured so that the electricalcontact (the head of the rivet (340)) does not have any exposed edgesthat may snag on the outlet body, wires, or screws. The side wings (354)allow for the spring clip (312) to glide up and down over the screws andscrew terminals. There may be vertical misalignment between the activecover plate and the receptacle body/screw terminals during theinstallation process. To achieve the desired alignment, and to allow theactive cover plate to fit around the face of the receptacle body and toalign the fastener aperture in the cover plate with the threaded hole inthe outlet body, the active cover plate may be slid up and down withrespect to the receptacle body. For example, a user may have engaged theactive cover plate too low on the receptacle body and needs to move itup to align the cover plate with the outlet body. The side wings (354)and smooth contours of the spring clip (312) created by molding thecentral portion of the non-conductive portion (305) to match/mate withthe surface of the installed rivet (340) allow the spring clip to glidesmoothly over the screws. The side wings (354) progressively bend thespring clip (312) backwards (in the Z direction) to lift it overobstacles (such as screw heads and contours of the receptacle body).

In this example, the head of the rivet (340) is rectangular, with themajor axis of the rectangular head oriented to provide contact withscrew terminals/screws that have a variety of depths (distances from thefront face of the outlet body). The narrow width of the rivet headreduces the likelihood of arcing if the screw terminal has been dividedinto two separate electrical elements by removing the break-out tab inthe middle of the screw terminal. This geometry is only one example. Avariety of other electrical contact geometries could be used.Additionally, the flexible conductive portion is angled inward topresent the rivet head at a desired angle and to provide for a largerange of motion of the spring clip outward (Z direction). Thisaccommodates receptacle bodies of varying width and screws that arescrewed outward from the screw terminals.

FIG. 3E is a side view of the spring clip (312) that shows variouscomponents of the flexible conductive portion (335). In this example,the flexible conductive portion (335) includes a base portion (362), an“S” shaped curve connected to the base portion (364), and an angledportion (363). The angled portion (363) directs the rivet (340) inwardtoward the outlet body. In this example, the rivet (340) is the mostprominent portion of the spring clip and extends farthest inward towardthe outlet/receptacle body. Both the side wings (354) and the main ramp(352) are angled away from the outlet body, with the base of the sidewings and ramp joining with the center of the non-conductive portion(305) containing the rivet (340) and the ends of the side wings (354)and ramp (352) extending away from the outlet body.

The flexible conductive portion (335) may include a variety of compoundcurves that increase its flexibility and resilience in allowing themotion/travel of the spring clip toward and way from the outlet/switchbody (width adjustment in Z direction). One example of this is the “S”shaped curve (364). The “S” shaped curve may serve several functions.The “S” shaped curve can provide increased flexibility to the springclip by providing two separate curvatures that bend. The “S” shapedcurve also allows for more bending/travel of the spring clip before thepermanent deformation of the conductive portion because the bending isdistributed over two locations rather than one.

FIG. 3F shows a rear perspective view of the spring clip (312). The endof the conductive portion (335) has a reduced width and interfaces withthe non-conductive portion (305). The center of the conductive portion(335) with reduced width has an aperture through which the rear of therivet (340) passes. The rear of the rivet (340) is then swaged(mushroomed) over the aperture as shown in FIG. 3F to make theconnection between the flexible conductive portion (335) and the rivet.The non-conductive portion (305) is sandwiched in between the rivet(340) and the conductive portion (335). In this example, thenonconductive portion (305) also includes a skirt (360) that covers therear of the conductive portion and prevents undesirable electricalcontact and arcing. In some examples, the rearwardly facing portion ofthe rivet and conductive portion may also be electrically insulated.

The width of the conductive portion (particularly the S shaped portion,364) may create a significant resistance to undesirable twisting orbending forces. This undesired motion tends to occur when the activecover plate is being moved vertically with respect to the outlet/switchbody and the spring clip is moving over the screws/screw terminals. Therelatively high stiffness of the spring clip in this direction preventstwisting/deformation during this operation, while the much lowerstiffness of the spring clip in the perpendicular direction (motiontoward and away from the screw terminals, along the Z-axis) allows forthe spring clip to move smoothly over the screws/screw terminals.

FIG. 3F also shows how the spring clip (312) is secured to the faceplate (315) and makes an electrical connection with the wire. The springclip (312) includes a base portion (362) with a number of apertures(361-1, 361-2). The apertures are configured to receive variousalignment and anchor features that are molded into the face plate (315).As discussed above, there may be a number of equally spaced press nutposts (348) or other type of posts in the face plate (315). In thisembodiment, the apertures (361-1, 361-2) in the base portion (362) areconfigured to accept any two adjacent posts (348). In this example, thespring clip (312) has been placed over the second and third posts(348-2, 348-3). By selecting which posts (348) the apertures are placedover, the vertical position of the spring clip (312) can be selectedduring manufacturing without having to manufacture different face plates(315), spring clips (312) or sandwich plates. The connection between thewire (344) and the spring clip (312) maybe made using a wire attachfeature (366) on the base portion (362) or in any other appropriatemanner. The wire attach feature (366) may include a slot into which astripped wire can be placed. The conductor can then be soldered to thewire attach feature. The wire (344) can be cut to the desired length orcan be long enough to accommodate all vertical positions of the springclips (312).

FIG. 3G is a cross sectional end view of an active cover plate (150)that is fastened over an outlet body (100) installed in an electricalbox (370). A left spring clip (372) makes electrical contact with a lefthot screw terminal (105) and a right spring clip (374) makes electricalcontact with a right neutral screw terminal (110). In this example, theterminal curves (350) of the insulating main ramps (352, FIG. 3D)contact the inside walls of the electrical box (370). This occurs whenthe spring clips (372, 374) are bent outward. The terminal curves (350)allow the spring clips (372, 374) to slide along the wall and alsoprovide additional support to the spring clips (372, 374) to preventover bending and plastic deformation of the flexible conductive portion(335, FIG. 3D) of the spring clips. Contacting the sides of the box alsoprovides additional force that presses the contacts into a more secureconnection with the screw terminal.

The illustrations in FIG. 3A-3G show various examples of spring clipsthat can be adjusted during assembly of the active cover plate. Thisallows for multiple types of active cover plates to be constructed withcommon parts. The same principles could be applied to allow foradjustment of the spring clips by the end user after production. Theexamples and specific embodiments described herein are only illustrativeand are given to illustrate principles that can be implemented in avariety of ways.

FIGS. 4A-4D show an example of an active cover plate that can beadjusted either during or after assembly of the active cover plate. Inone example, the spring clips can be adjusted after the active coverplate is completely assembled. As discussed above, the screw terminalson outlet and switch bodies may be formed in a variety of locations. Toaccommodate the widest number of outlets or switches, the active coverplate may include multiple position spring clips. The spring clips maybe moved vertically to reposition the spring clips to more effectivelycontact the screw terminals.

FIG. 4A is a rear view of a universal active cover plate (400) withmultiple position spring clips (430) that slide vertically or havemultiple vertical positions to better connect to outlet/receptaclebodies with different orientations or different screw terminalplacement. For example, outlet bodies that are installed right side up(ground prongs on the bottom) or upside down (ground prongs on the top)may have screws in different vertical positions. By allowing themultiple position spring clips (430) to be vertically adjusted withrespect to the face plate (425), a single face plate design canaccommodate both upside down and right side up outlet body installationsas well as receptacle bodies with different screw terminal locations.

In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the multiple position spring clips(430) include a sliding base (410) with numbered notches (420) along oneside. A detent (415) engages with the notches (420) to secure thesliding base in the desired position. In this example, there are threepositions for the sliding base. The multiple position spring clips (430)are connected to the sliding bases (410) and move with the bases (410).The sliding base (410) may move in a track that is molded into the faceplate (425) and may be held in place by a back plate or sandwich plate.The motion of the sliding base is in the plane of the face plate (425)and is illustrated by the double headed arrows. The spring clips can beindividually adjusted to different locations if desired.

A flexible conductor (405) connects the multiple position spring clip(430) to the circuit board (435). The flexible conductor (405) has slackto accommodate motion of the sliding base (410). For example, theflexible conductor (405) may be stranded wire or a laminated ribboncable.

FIGS. 4B, 4C and 4D show the multiple position spring clips (430) invarious positions on the face plate (400). The multiple position springclips (430) may be moved by applying manual pressure to the sliding base(410, FIG. 4A) so that the detent (415, FIG. 4A) slides out of a firstnotch and into a second notch. FIG. 4B shows the multiple positionspring clips (430) in a nominal position (“position 1”) that allows themultiple position spring clips (430) to contact the screw terminals onthe majority of outlets. From position 1, the spring clips can beadjusted either up or down as shown by the double headed arrows. FIG. 4Cshows the spring clips (430) pushed down into position 2. The multipleposition spring clips (430) may be moved together or separately,depending on the situation. FIG. 4D shows the spring clips (430) movedup to position 3. The combination of positions 1, 2, and 3 are designedto allow the spring clips to make electrical contact with a majority ofscrew terminals in a particular class of receptacle bodies. As shownbelow, the spring clips could also have adjustable depths to reach screwterminals that are deeper or shallower in the receptacle box.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show one example of an active cover plate (500) thatincludes a spring clip (505) that can be adjusted to have multiplevertical positions. In this example, the protrusions (515) on thesandwich plate (510) engage with slots (525, FIG. 5B) in the spring clip(505). In this example, the spring clip (505) is shown without thenonconductive portion and rivet. The hole (507) through the conductiveportion is shown. The nonconductive portion is placed over the narrowend of the conductive portion and the rivet is placed through a hole inthe nonconductive portion and through the hole (507) in the conductiveportion. The rivet is then swaged in place. As discussed above, thisfastens the nonconductive portion to the conductive portion and makes anelectrical connection between the rivet and the conductive portion.

The engagement between the slots (525) in the spring clip (505) and theprotrusions (515) on the sandwich plate (510) allow for the spring clip(505) to have multiple positions. The spring clip (505) can be movedduring manufacturing of the active cover plate (500) or, in someexamples, as part of the installation process. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, thespring clip has three slots and there are three protrusions on the faceplate, but in general there may be any number of slots and protrusionsto provide the desired amount of adjustment.

FIGS. 5C and 5D show a partially assembled active cover plate (530) thatincludes a spring clip (540) with a tab (560) that engages with one ofthree grooves (555) formed in the face plate (535). This allows thespring clip (540) to be positioned in any of three different verticallocations. The tab (560) can be lifted and the adjustable spring clip(540) can slide back and forth between the sandwich plate (545) and theface plate (535). When the desired location is reached the tab (560) canbe released to engage with the desired groove (550) and secure thespring clip (540) in place. Alternatively the grooves may be placed inthe sandwich plate (545). The tab (560) can be lifted using manualforce. For example, the tab (560) may be lifted using by placing afinger or finger nail under the tab and lifting it, then sliding thespring clip (540) into the desired location and releasing the tab (560)into another groove. Alternatively, the tab may be curved so that itmoves from groove to groove when sufficient manual pressure is applied.In this case the tab would be configured to secure the spring clip inplace during normal operation and only move when sliding force ofsufficient magnitude is applied.

FIGS. 6A-6C shows one example of an active cover plate (600) with aspring clip (602) that rotates to reach screw terminals in differentlocations. In this implementation, the spring clip (602) includes a base(610) that is connected to the face plate (605). A pivot (615) connectsa head portion of the spring clip (602) to the base (610). The headportion of the spring clip (602) includes a contact (620) and anonconductive portion (625).

The head portion of the spring clip (602), including the nonconductiveportion and contact/rivet, can be rotated about the pivot (615) to reachscrew terminals that are below (FIG. 6B) or above (FIG. 6C) the base(610) of the spring clip (602). FIG. 6B shows the head portion of thespring clip (602) has been rotated clockwise about the pivot (615) sothat the contact (620) makes an electrical connection with an underlyingscrew head (635) vertically below the base (610) of the spring clip(602). FIG. 6C shows the head portion of the spring clip (602) has beenrotated counter clockwise so that the contact (620) makes electricalcontact with an underlying screw head (640) that is vertically above thebase (610) of the spring clip (602). The pivot (615) is constructed tomaintain electrical continuity between the electrical contact (620) andthe base (610) during and after rotation of the head portion of thespring clip (602).

FIGS. 7A-7D show one example of an active cover plate (700) thatincludes a spring clip (705) that is specifically designed to beadjustable in the depth direction (horizontally, along the Y axis asshow in FIG. 2A). This spring clip (705) includes two different contacts(710, 715). The outline of the contacts are shown as dashed linesbecause they are on the opposite side of the spring clip. A firstcontact (710) is closer to the base of the spring clip (705) and asecond contact, or more distal contact (715) is closer to the tip of thespring clip (705). The more distal contact (715) allows the spring clip(705) to contact screw terminals that are significantly farther awayfrom the face plate (755). For example, the more distal contact (715)may be used to contact screw terminals of a GFCI outlet body.

The spring clip (705) may be used with both contacts (710, 715) bare ormay include a sliding cover (730) that can be moved along the body (720)of the spring clip (705) to selectively cover one of the contacts (710,715). This sliding cover (730) can be used to prevent the contact (710,715) that is not in direct contact with the screw terminal from shortingor coming into electrical contact with other elements.

In FIG. 7A, the active cover plate (700) is placed over a standardduplex outlet body (735) with screw terminals (740) that are only arelatively short distance D1 from the face of the outlet body (735).Thus, the sliding cover (730) is moved over the more distal contact(715) to insulate it. When placed over the standard duplex outlet (735)the contact (710) that is closer to the base contacts the screw terminal(740).

FIG. 7B shows the active cover plate (700) being placed over a GFCIoutlet body (737). The screw terminals (740) on the GFCI outlet body(737) are significantly farther way from the face of the outlet body(distance D2). Additionally, the vertical location of the screwterminals (740) is not the same as the duplex outlet body (735, FIG.7A). To make an electrical connection with the screw terminal (740), thespring clip (705) is slid vertically up the face plate (755) using anyof a number of mechanisms and the sliding cover (730) is slid along thebody (720) of the spring clip to cover the contact (710) closest to theface plate (755). The active cover plate (700) can then be connectedover the GFCI outlet body (737) and the more distal contact (715) willcontact the screw terminal (740). In some examples there may be twodifferent terminals on the same side of a receptacle body. For example,switch bodies may have two screw terminals on the same side. In thiscase, the active cover plate may have two spring clips on the same sideto make the desired contact with the screw terminals.

FIGS. 7C and 7D are side views of the spring clip (705) with thenonconductive portion (305, FIG. 3D) removed. As discussed above, thebody (720) has several contacts (710, 715) along its length that arepositioned to make contact with screw terminals on various styles ofoutlet/receptacle bodies. The body (720) is connected to the face plate(755). When the target screw terminal is at a relatively shallow depth,the first contact (710) near the face plate is exposed and the moredistal contact (715) from the face plate (755) is covered by the slidingcover (730). This configuration is shown in FIG. 7C. The configurationshown in FIG. 7D is for making contact with screw terminals that are ata greater depth from the face of the receptacle body. The sliding cover(730) is moved over the first contact (710) near the face plate (755)and the more distal contact (715) from the face plate (755) is exposed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an alternative implementation of a depthadjustable spring clip (800) mounted to a face plate (805). In thisexample, the body (810) of the spring clip (800) has a slot (815) alongits length and the contact (820) slides back and forth in the slot toachieve the desired depth. The body (810) of the spring clip (800) maybe conducting and the contact (820) may be electrically connected to thebody (810). Additionally or alternatively, the contact (820) may have aflexible conductor connected to it that transfers power to the circuitryinside the active cover plate.

As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1B and 1C, in someoutlet/receptacle bodies there are terminals that have two screws/screwpads that are in relatively close proximity. FIG. 9A shows this type ofoutlet body (900), which includes a first screw (910) and first screwpad (905) and a second screw (920) and a second screw pad (915). Thefirst screw pad (905) and the second screw pad (915) are connected by abreakout tab (925). By removing the breakout tab (925) the terminal canbe divided into two electrically separate parts. This is illustrated inFIG. 9B, where a first part includes the first screw pad and screw (905,910) and an electrical supply wire (930) electrically connected to thescrew pad/screw (905, 910). The second part includes the second screwpad and screw (915, 920) and a second electrical supply wire (935)electrically connected to the second screw pad and screw (915, 920). Thefirst part supplies electrical power to one of the outlets and thesecond part separately supplies electrical power to the other outlet.This may be useful in a variety of situations. For example, one of theoutlets may be connected to switch and a lamp plugged into the outlet.This allows the switch to control the lamp. However, the other outletmay be used for general purpose connections and may be on all the time.By dividing the terminal, one of the outlets may be separatelycontrolled by the switch while the other outlet has continuous power.

However, if the contact pad on the spring clip that contacts the firstand/or second parts of the screw terminal is very wide, it may causearcing or shorting between the first part (905, 910, FIG. 9A) and secondpart (915, 920) of the terminals. To avoid this, the contacts may berelatively narrow. An outline (943) of a contact is superimposed on thedivided terminal. Because the contact is relatively narrow, it willeliminate arcing or shorting as it moves or is placed over the dividedterminal. For example, a contact with an oblong or narrow rectangleshape may be used, where the width of the contact is significantlysmaller than the distance between two adjacent screws/pads. The term“significantly smaller” refers to a dimension that prevents arcing whenthe spring clip slides between the two adjacent screw/pads duringinstallation or adjustment.

FIG. 9C shows an additional safety precaution that could be implementedin an active cover plate. In this implementation, the spring clip (945)is only electrically connected to the active cover plate (970) when itis in one of a predetermined number of locations. This is accomplishedby forming pads (995, 960) or other features on the face plate orsandwich plate and forming a corresponding spring clip pad (950). Thisis only one example, a variety of other connection mechanisms could beused. When the spring clip pad (950) aligns with a pad or contact (955,960) on the face plate/sandwich plate, an electrical current isdelivered to the circuitry/load in the active cover plate (970). Whenthe spring clip pad (950) is not aligned with the pads (955, 960) on theface plate/sandwich plate, there is no electrical connection to thecircuitry. For example, when the spring clip is moving or positioned inthe area between two separated parts of a screw terminal, there would beno connection to the circuitry but when the spring clip was in thedesired location and makes an electrical connection with only one of thescrew terminals, the pads align to make the desired electricalconnection to the circuit.

FIGS. 10A-10C show examples of active cover plates that includeintermediate elements that could be interposed between the receptaclebody and the face plate. The intermediate elements could be adapted tospecific outlets while presenting a uniform interface to the faceplates. This allows the face plates to be identical for outlet/switchbodies of the same type but with different screw terminal locations. Forexample, the same face plate could be used for all duplex outlet bodies,with different intermediate elements compensating for the differences inscrew terminal locations.

FIG. 10A shows an outlet body (1000) and an active cover plate (1002)that includes an intermediate element (1005) and a face plate (1010)that connects over the outlet body (1000) and intermediate element(1005). The intermediate element (1005) in this example fits over theface of the outlet body (1000). The intermediate element (1005) mayelectrically connect to the outlet body (1000), include powerconditioning circuitry, and may provide an interface to present powerand/or signals to the face plate (1010).

FIGS. 10B and 10C are a front view and a side view respectively of anoutlet body (1000) with an intermediate element (1015). In this example,the intermediate element (1015) includes spring clips (1017) and surfacecontacts (1020). As shown in FIG. 10C, the spring clips (1017) contactthe screw terminals (1022) on the side of the outlet body (1000).Electrical power is then routed (and potentially conditioned into lowervoltage direct current) through the intermediate element (1015) andpresented to a face plate (1010, FIG. 10A) by the surface contacts(1020).

Alternatively or additionally, presentation of the power may be throughanother mechanical interface, such as a pin/prong interface, or throughwireless power transfer, such as between coils. Other options includeintermediate devices that contact the screw terminals on the receptaclebody and then transfer the power to electrical pads on a differentlocation on the sides of the outlet/switch body. In this example, anactive cover plate with spring clips that would ordinarily not be ableto contact the screw terminals could be used to contact the electricalpads on the exterior of the intermediate element. In general, theintermediary devices are plug and play devices that do not requireremoval of the outlet to install. Further, the intermediary devices arenot merely a hard wired connection between an outlet and a face plate.Installation of the intermediary device is typically a tool-lessoperation that does not require reconfiguration of the receptacle body.

There are a variety of additional ways that active cover plates could bedesigned for more universal use with a range of receptacle bodies. Oneapproach is to build multiple prongs and/or contacts onto the activecover plate and then use only the prongs that are connected to activeterminals. The remaining prongs may not contact a terminal or maycontact a terminal that is not electrified (i.e. a ground terminal).FIG. 11 is a diagram that shows potential locations for various prongson an active switch cover plate (1100). In this example, there is aground contact (1105) that may contact the chassis of the receptaclebody. A number of spring clips (1110-1, 1110-2, 1110-3, 1110-4, and1110-5) are distributed on the active switch cover plate (1100). Some ofthe spring clips may be active in one configuration and not in otherconfigurations. For example, in three way and four way light switchbodies, some of the screw terminals may be active (have a voltagedifference) in one configuration (i.e. when the light is ON) and otherscrew terminals may be active (have a voltage difference) in a differentconfiguration (i.e. when the light is OFF). The use of multiple springclips/contacts allows for the active cover plate to connect to a widervariety of receptacle bodies and to adapt to various operationalconfigurations of the receptacle bodies.

FIGS. 12A-12D show various diagrams of an active cover plate (1200) thatincludes vertically adjustable spring clips with hinge joints. The hingejoints allow the spring clips to be packaged and shipped flat. This canprovide a number of advantages including lowering the cost of shipping,decreasing the size and weight of packaging, and protecting the springclips from damage. FIG. 12A shows a cross sectional view of an activecover plate (1200) that has two hinged spring clips (1215, 1220) thatare folded down for shipping or storage. In this simplified diagram theactive cover plate (1200) includes a face plate (1205) and hinges (1210,1225). Before the active cover plate (1200) is installed, the springclips (1215, 1220) are brought into the upright position so that theyextend rearward from the face plate as shown in FIG. 12B.

In some examples the hinges are designed to be conductive throughouttheir range of motion. In other examples, the hinges may only beconductive in their raised position. Alternatively, the hinges may notbe conductive. In this case the contact and moving part of the springclip may be connected to circuitry in the active cover plate by aflexible wire or make an electrical contact in their upright position.In one implementation, the spring clips lock into their uprightposition. In this example, a latching mechanism (1212) engages with thespring clip when the spring clips are raised. The latching mechanismholds the spring clip in the upright position and prevents the hingejoint from rotating after the latch engages with the spring clip. Inother implementations, the spring clips may be held in their raisedposition by pressure from the contact on the outlet/switch body.

FIGS. 12C and 12D show an implementation where the hinged spring clip(1220) is also vertically adjustable (its position is adjustable in theplane of the face plate) to allow the active cover plate (1200) to beused in conjunction with a wider range of outlet bodies. In thisexample, the spring clip (1220) includes a slider (1235) that slides ina slot (1230) in the face plate (1205). The hinge (1210) is also shownwith the latching mechanism (1212). In this example, the latchingmechanism (1212) includes a ramp and a slot. When the spring clip israised, it engages with the ramp on the latching mechanism and thenclicks into the slot. This secures the spring clip (1220) in the desiredupright position. In FIG. 12C, the spring clip (1220) is in a centralposition and can be moved either up or down in the slot (1230). In FIG.12D, the spring clip (1220) has been moved upward in the slot (1230) bymanually moving the slider (1235). Although the figures above showhinges that allow the spring clips to lay flat and be raised, there area variety of other mechanisms that could be used, including flexures,joints, or other suitable rotational mechanisms.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an illustrative method (1300) for connectingan active cover plate over a receptacle body. The method includesadjusting a vertical or horizontal position of an electrical contact onan active cover plate to contact an electrified portion of a receptaclebody (block 1305). For example, adjusting a vertical or horizontalposition of the electrical contact with respect to an active cover platemay include vertically moving or sliding a spring clip supporting theelectrical contact with respect to the face plate. There are severalexamples of this given above: selecting which posts the spring clip isplaced over, moving the spring clip so that a detent engages with aselected indention, lifting a tab out of a groove and sliding the springclip to a desired location and releasing the tab to engage with adifferent groove, engaging protrusions on the face plate or sandwichplate with slots in the spring clip, or other techniques. Examples ofmoving the electrical contact in a horizontal direction includes slidinga contact along a slot in the spring clip or covering unused contacts onthe spring clip to expose only a contact that has the desired horizontalposition (depth).

The active cover plate is then moved over the receptacle body such thatthe electrical contact contacts an electrified portion of the receptaclebody (block 1310). As discussed above, the shape of the nonconductiveportion of the spring clip can facilitate/guide the active cover plateover the receptacle body. The active cover plate is secured over thereceptacle body such that human interface elements of the receptaclebody are exposed (block 1315). For example, a screw can be insertedthrough a hole in the active cover plate and threaded into thereceptacle body. The human interface elements include any portion of thereceptacle body that humans interface with, such as switches andelectrical receptacles.

FIG. 14A is an illustrative example of an adjustable spring clip design.In this example, a spring clip 1400 can be adjusted vertically withrespect to the face plate (1410) by a locking mechanism that includes abar (1440) with multiple indentations (1450) formed into the face plate(1410). A protruding portion (1430) of the base of the spring clip(1420) is formed to engage with any one of the indentations to securethe spring clip into a particular vertical position with respect to thespring clip. To move the spring clip to a different vertical location,pressure can be applied to the spring clip that forces the protrudingportion out of a first indentation and into a different indentation. Theresilient spring force of the protruding portion retains the spring clipin the desired location during operation. Mounting holes (1435) or otherfeatures can be used to secure additional components, such as a slidinggrip for applying pressure to force the spring clip into a new position.In this figure additional supporting components have not been shown, butare shown below in FIG. 14B.

FIG. 14B shows an active cover plate (1460) that includes the springclips (1400). In this figure, the sliding grips (1470-1, 1470-2) areattached to the spring clips (1400-1, 1400-2) and secured with asandwich/back plate (1480). When vertical force is applied to thesliding grips the protruding portion (1430, FIG. 14A) of the base can beforced into a new indentation, thereby securing the spring clip (1400-1,1400-2) into a new position. In FIG. 14B, the left spring clip (1400-1)is shown in an upper position and the right spring clip (1400-2) isshown in a lower position. There may be any number ofpositions/indentations. For example, there may be an upper position thatpositions the spring clip (1400-1, 1400-2) to contact a first screw headon a terminal, an intermediate position that positions the spring clip(1400-1, 1400-2) to contact a break off tab on the terminal, and a lowposition that allows the spring clip (1400-1, 1400-2) to contact asecond screw head on the terminal. This adjustability allows the activecover plate (1460) to be used with a wide variety of outlets, includingthose that do not have screw terminals but have break off tabs. It alsoallows the active cover plate (1460) to be oriented in either aright-side up orientation or an upside down orientation with respect tothe outlet, regardless of the orientation of the outlet.

FIGS. 15A-15C show a generalized example of a cover plate (1500) thatincludes a face plate (1515), an engaging feature (1510) disposed on theface plate (1515) and a spring clip (1520). The engaging feature (1510)disposed on the face plate engages with the spring clip (1520) andsecures the spring clip in at least two different positions with respectto the face plate (1515). As discussed above, the face plate could beany cover for an electrical box and/or electrical receptacle.

In one embodiment, the engaging feature (1510) may secure a base (1505)of the spring clip (1520) into one or more positions. In the exampleshown, the engaging feature (1510) secures the base (1505), and thespring clip, in two or more vertical positions (along the X axis) withrespect to the face plate (1515). However, the engaging feature (1510)may also secure the base (1505) along a horizontal axis (on the Z axis).

The engaging feature (1510) may be a post or posts that engage with thebase (1505), a detent (415, FIG. 4A) that engages with a notch or otherindentation (420, FIG. 4A), a protrusion (515, FIG. 5A) that engageswith a slot (525, FIG. 5A) in the base, slots (555, FIG. 5D) that engagewith the tab (560, FIG. 5D) in the base, a contact (955, FIG. 9C) thatconnects to a corresponding spring clip pad (950, FIG. 9C) in the base,a slot (1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with a slider (1235, FIG. 12C), abar (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages with a protruding portion (1430, FIG.14A), and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) that engages with the base(1420, FIG. 14A). Further, any of these concepts could be combined withother concepts or have additional elements introduced to form engagingfeatures that engage with the spring clip to secure it in position. Forexample, the principle of a tab (560, FIG. 5D) and slot (555, FIG. 5D)could be combined with a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) to allow foreasier adjustment of a prong location. Pressure on the sliding grip(1470, FIG. 14B) could cause the tab (560, FIG. 5D) to disengage from afirst slot and to engage a second slot (555, FIG. 5D). The engagingfeature (1510) may engage with the spring clip in any of a variety ofways. For example the engaging feature (1510) may mate with a feature orelement on the spring clip (1520). Specifically, the base (1510) of thespring clip (1520) may have a mating feature that accepts or is receivedby the engaging feature (1510).

In some embodiments, the engaging feature (1510, FIGS. 15A, 15B, 15C)may be disposed on a rear surface (1516) of the face plate (1515) andthe two or more different positions (1506, 1508; FIG. 15C) are differentlocations of the spring clip (1520) on the rear surface (1516) of theface plate (1515).

For example, the face plate (1515) may include a rear surface (1516) andthe engaging feature (1510) may include at least two engaging elements(1506, 1508) that secure the spring clip (1520) in at least twodifferent fixed positions (1521, 1522) with respect to the rear surface(1516) of the face plate (1515). The two different positions (1521,1522) may include a first position (1521) and a second position (1522)and the spring clip (1520) may be a selectively positionable spring clippositionable in the first position (1521) and the second position (1522)on the rear surface (1516) of the face plate (1515), wherein at leastone of the engaging elements (1506, 1508) engages with the spring clip(1520) to secure the spring clip in the first position (1506) withrespect to the rear surface (1516) of the face plate (1516) and at leastone of the engaging elements (1506, 1508) engages with the spring clipto secure the spring clip in the second position (1522) on the rear faceof the face plate.

The engaging elements (1506, 1508) may include posts (e.g. FIGS. 3A-3F),detents (e.g. 415, FIG. 4A), notches or other indentations (e.g. 420,FIG. 4A), protrusions (e.g. 515, FIG. 5A), slots (e.g. 525, FIG. 5A;555, FIG. 5D), tabs (e.g. 560, FIG. 5D), pads (e.g. 955, FIG. 9C), aslot (1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with a slider (e.g. 1235, FIG. 12C),a bar (e.g. 1440, FIG. 14A) with indentions, flexible protrusions (e.g.1430, FIG. 14A) or other elements. Further, any of these concepts couldbe combined with other concepts or have additional elements introducedto form engaging elements. For example, the principle of a tab (e.g.560, FIG. 5D) and slot (e.g. 555, FIG. 5D) could be combined with asliding grip (e.g. 1470, FIG. 14B) to allow for easier adjustment of aprong location.

In one embodiment, the engaging elements discussed above may be lockingfeatures. For example, the engaging feature may include a first lockingfeature (1506) and a second locking feature (1508), wherein the firstlocking feature (1506) mechanically engages with the spring clip (1520)and repositionably secures the spring clip in a first position (1521)with respect to the face plate (1515) and the second locking feature(1522) mechanically engages with the spring clip (1520) torepositionably secure the spring clip in a second position (1522) withrespect to the face plate (1516). The locking features may include apost or posts (FIGS. 3A-3F), a detent or detents (415, FIG. 4A) thatengages with a notch or other indentation (420, FIG. 4A), a protrusion(515, FIG. 5A) that engages with a slot (525, FIG. 5A) in the base,slots (555, FIG. 5D) that engage with the tab (560, FIG. 5D) in thebase, a contact (955, FIG. 9C) that connects to a corresponding springclip pad (950, FIG. 9C), a slot (1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with aslider (1235, FIG. 12C), a bar (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages with aprotruding portion (1430, FIG. 14A), and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG.14B) that engages with the base (1420, FIG. 14A). Further, any of theseconcepts could be combined with other concepts or have additionalelements introduced to form locking features.

In some examples, the two or more different positions (1521, 1522) maybe different vertical positions with respect to the face plate (1515).The spring clip (1520) may be shiftably adjustable along the verticalaxis (X axis) with respect to the face plate and allow the electricalcontact to be shiftably adjustable along the vertical axis with respectto the screw terminal. The electrical contact may also be shiftablyadjustable on the spring clip in a depth axis to allow for therepositioning of the electrical contact along a depth axis with respectto the screw terminal.

FIGS. 16A-16C show one example of an active cover plate (1600) thatincludes a face plate (1615), spring clip (1620), and a shiftablyadjustable mechanism (1612) securing the spring clip (1620) to the faceplate (1615) in at least two different fixed positions (1614-1, 1614-2,1614-3). The spring clip (1620) is movable between the at least twodifferent fixed positions (1614-1, 1614-2, 1614-3). The face plate(1615) may be a cover that is configured to be mounted or placed overany type of electrical receptacle, including switch and lightreceptacles.

The specific examples of components shown in FIGS. 16A-16C do not limitthe scope of the principles taught or the scope of the claims. Forexample, although the shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) is shown tothe left of the spring clip (1620), it may be on the right, bottom, top,angled beneath, or on top of the spring clip (1620). The embodiment ofthe shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) is a generalized version thatrepresents all the embodiments of a shiftably adjustable mechanism(1612) described herein, combinations of mechanisms described herein,and/or shiftably adjustable mechanisms that utilize the principlesdescribed herein.

The spring clip (1620) may have a variety of configurations, includingbut not limited to various spring clip embodiments illustrated anddescribed herein. As illustrated in FIGS. 16-A-16C, the spring clip(1620) may include a base (1610). Additionally or alternatively, thespring clip (1620) may have a configuration similar to the spring clip(312) illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3D, 3E, 3F; the spring clip (350)illustrated in FIG. 3G; the partial spring clip (505) illustrated inFIGS. 5A and 5B; the partial spring clip (540) illustrated in FIGS. 5Cand 5D; the spring clip embodiment (602) shown in FIGS. 6A-6C, thespring clip embodiment (705) shown in FIGS. 7A-7D; the spring clipembodiment (800) shown in FIG. 8; the spring clip embodiment (945) shownin FIG. 9C; the spring clips (1220) shown in FIGS. 12A-12D; the springclip (1420) illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14B; the support structure (1630)and associated elements shown in FIGS. 16C-16D; the spring clips (2100)shown in FIGS. 20A-20C, 21A-21C, 22; any of the spring clips (2300)shown in FIGS. 23A-23F; the spring clips (2400) shown in FIGS. 24A-24E.In this example, the base (1610, FIG. 16A) is considered part of thespring clip. Further, the concepts described can be applied to adjustthe position of a wide range of spring clips with different geometriesand configurations.

The shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) securing the spring clip(1620) to the face plate (1615) may use any or all of the principlesdescribed herein with respect to mechanisms that use stakes or posts ofany kind, including posts (348-1 through 348-5) shown in FIGS. 3A-3Cwith mating apertures in the spring clips (312); mechanisms that usedetents (see e.g. 415, FIG. 4A) that engage with notches or otherindentations (see e.g. 420, FIG. 4A); and any of a wide range ofprotrusions that engage with slots, apertures, or other indentations,such as protrusions (515) shown in FIG. 5A that engage with a slot (525,FIG. 5A). The shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) may further useprinciples described with respect to any type of tabs or other resilientflexible elements that engage with a wide range of apertures, slots orother indentations, such as the slots (555, FIG. 5D) that engage withthe tab (560, FIG. 5D); a wide range of slots that engage with sliderssuch as the slot (1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with the slider (1235,FIG. 12C), and a wide range of other mechanisms and principles may beused such as a bar with indentations (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages witha protruding portion (1430, FIG. 14A), and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG.14B) that engages with the base (1420, FIG. 14A). Without limitation,elements of the shiftably adjustable mechanism may be parts of thespring clip and/or face plate.

In this example, the shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) mechanicallyinteracts with the base (1610, FIG. 16A) of the spring clip (1620). Thisinteraction may take a variety of forms, including those above. Further,any of these concepts or principles could be combined with otherconcepts or principles and/or have additional elements introduced toform shiftably adjustable mechanisms (1612).

FIGS. 16A-16C further show that the spring clip (1620) is movablebetween the at least two different fixed positions (1614-1, 1614-2,1614-3) through the application of force which disengages the shiftablyadjustable mechanism (1612) to move the spring clip (1620) from a firstfixed position (1614-2) and reengages the shiftably adjustable mechanismto secure the spring clip in a second fixed position (1614-1, 1614-3).In some cases the applied force may be a manual force applied by theuser. However, the applied force could be applied in a variety of otherways, such as through the use of electromotive force, gears, flexures,springs, magnetic force, or any other type of force.

Examples of applied force include the force required to lift the prong(312) from the posts (348-2, 348-3) and place it on a different set ofposts as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C; the applied force applied to move thedetents (see e.g. 415, FIG. 4A) from a first notch or indentation to asecond notch or indentation (see e.g. 420, FIG. 4A); the applied forceapplied to flex the spring clip (505, FIG. 5A, 5B) downward to disengagethe protrusions (515, FIG. 5A-5B) from the slots (525, FIG. 5A-5B) andslide the spring clip (505) to a new position; the applied force neededto lift the tab (560, FIG. 5D) out of a slot (555, FIG. 5D) and slidethe spring clip (540) to a new position; the applied force needed topush a slider (1235, FIG. 12C) along a slot (1230, FIG. 12C); and theapplied force required to disengage a protruding portion (1430, FIG.14A) from a first indentation in a bar (1440, FIG. 14A) and shift theprotruding portion to another indentation; for example, this manualforce may be applied to a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) that engageswith the base (1420, FIG. 14A). Further, any of these concepts orprinciples could be combined with other concepts or principles toprovide for the application of applied force to disengage a shiftablyadjustable mechanism (1612).

Examples of at least two different fixed positions include, but are notlimited to, posts (348-1 to 348-5; FIGS. 3B-3C) that are received byapertures in a base of a spring clip (312; FIGS. 3B-3C); the threenumbered positions on the base (410, FIG. 4A-4D); protrusions (515)shown in FIG. 5A that engage with a slot (525, FIG. 5A) are configuredto position the spring clip at several different fixed positions thatare in plane with the rear surface of the face plate; similarly, theslot (555, FIG. 5D) and tab (560, FIG. 5d ) fix the location of thespring clip (540, FIG. 5D) multiple locations that are all in a planeparallel to the back surface of the face plate (535, FIG. 5C); the slot(1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with the slider (1235, FIG. 12C) moves thespring clip (1220) in a plane parallel to the rear surface of the coverplate; a bar with indentations (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages with aprotruding portion (1430, FIG. 14A), and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG.14B) that engages with the base (1420, FIG. 14A) to move the prong(1400) within a plane that parallel to the rear surface of the faceplate. However, there is no restriction how, how much, or where thespring clips are adjustable. Spring clips may be adjusted in any of anumber of ways to provide for contact between the electrical contact anda screw terminal on an electrical receptacle.

In some examples, the at least two different fixed positions (1614-1,1614-2, 1614-3) may both be in a plane that is parallel to the rearsurface (1616) of the plate (1600). For example, because the base (1610)rests on the rear surface (1616) of the face plate (1615), motion of thebase across the rear surface (1616) is considered to be in a plane thatis parallel to the rear surface. The plane that is parallel to the rearsurface may be defined by motion of the spring clip along the Z axisand/or X axis (the ZX plane), notwithstanding that there may be somemotion in the Y axis or minor rotations of the spring clip. FIGS. 3A-3F,4A-4D, 5A-5D, 7A-7B, 12A-12D, and 14A-14B all illustrate examples ofspring clips that have at least one adjustable degree of freedom in theZX plane.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 16A-16C, the spring clip may moveover the rear surface (1616) of the cover plate and consequently, the atleast two different fixed positions (1614-1, 1614-2, 1614-3) are in aplane parallel to the rear surface. The fixed positions illustrated inFIG. 16B are a linear array of three positions along the X axis(vertical axis), however the positions are not limited to positions inthe X axis. The positions may be located in any location on the ZX planeand may include depth adjustment in the Y axis as well. Further, theremay be any number of positions, including two, three, four or more.

The shiftably adjustable mechanism (1612) described above with respectto FIGS. 16A and 16B may include a first engaging element (1605) and asecond engaging element (1606) as shown in FIG. 16C. In some examples,the first engaging element (1605) may be flexible such that flexure ofthe first engaging element disengages the first engaging element fromthe second engaging element (1606) to allow the spring clip (1620) to bemoved from a first fixed position (1608) to a second fixed position(1609). In other configurations the second engaging element (1606) maybe flexible. There may be additional engaging elements (1607) thatsecure the spring clip in different positions. In some examples thespring clip (1620) or spring clip base (1610) may include the firstengaging element (1605) and the face plate (1616) may include the secondengaging element (1606). However, because the designation of the “first”and “second” engaging elements can be arbitrary, the spring clip withits accompanying base can have one of the engaging elements and the faceplate may include (or have attached to it) the other engaging element.

For example, in FIG. 3B-3F, the first engaging element includesapertures in the base (362) of the spring clip (312) and the secondengaging element is any two of the posts (348-1 through 348-5). A firstfixed position of the spring clip with respect to the face plate isshown in FIG. 3B with the spring clips over a first set of posts (348-2,348-3). The second fixed position is shown in FIG. 3C with the springclips over different posts (348-3, 348-4).

FIGS. 4A-4D show a first engaging element as a notch (420) on a slidingbase (410) that engages with a second engaging element in the form of adetent (415). In this example, there are multiple engaging elements onthe sliding base and only one second engaging element fixed to the faceplate (425). Alternatively, there may be one first engaging element onthe base and multiple fixed engaging elements on the face plate.

FIGS. 5A-5B show one example where the first engaging element is one ofslots (525) on the spring clip and the second engaging element is one ofthe protrusions (515) in the back plate (510). In this example, thereare multiple engaging elements in the spring clip and multiple engagingelements fixed with respect to the face plate. Additionally, multipleengaging elements on the spring clip engage with the multiple engagingelements that are fixed with respect to the face plate. FIGS. 5C-5D showa first engaging element (tab, 560) that engages with a second engagingelement (slot, 555). There are multiple fixed engaging elements (slots550, 555), including the second engaging element (555), in the faceplate (535).

FIGS. 12A-12D show a first engaging element in the form of a slider(1235) and a second engaging element in the form of a slot (1230). Inthis example, the first engaging element engages with the secondengaging element to secure the spring clip in multiple positions. FIGS.14A-14B show a first engaging element (1430) that engages with a secondengaging element (1450) to secure the spring clip (1400) in a firstposition. The spring clip can be moved by disengaging the first engagingelement (1430) from the second engaging element (1450) and engaging thefirst engaging element with a different fixed engaging element (i.e. adifferent notch in the bar (1440).

Returning to FIG. 16C, the first engaging element (1605) and the secondengaging element (1606) may include a mechanical interface (1611)between the first engaging element (1605) and the second engagingelement (1606) to secure the spring clip (1620) in position with respectto the face plate (1616). This mechanical interface (1611) is physicalcontact between the first engaging element and second engaging element.The physical contact may include a normal force between/on surfaces,friction, mechanical interference, force due to flexure/spring forces,protrusions fitting into apertures, pinching contact,magnetic/electromagnetic forces, or any other type of interface orsurface contact.

For example, in FIG. 3B-3F, apertures (361-1, 361-2) in the base (362)of the spring clip (312) and the posts (348-1 through 348-5)mechanically interface to fix the spring clip (312) in position.Specifically, at least a portion of the perimeter of the posts (348-2,348-3; FIG. 3F) mechanically contact the inner diameter of the apertures(36-1, 361-2; FIG. 3F) to secure the spring clip (312, FIG. 3F) inposition.

FIGS. 4A-4D show a notch (420) on a sliding base (410) that forms amechanical interface with a detent (415). This mechanical interface mayinclude force that based on flexure of one or more of the sliding baseor detent. Alternatively, the mechanical interface may be that thedetent is retained within the notch but has some mechanical play or slopsuch that the detent may move slightly within the notch. This slightplay still constitutes a mechanical interface that secures the springclip in a fixed position with respect to the face plate. FIGS. 5A-5Bshow a mechanical interface where slots (525) on the spring clip form amechanical interface with protrusions (515). The protrusions (515)physically contact the interior surfaces of the slots (525) to securethe spring clip in place. FIGS. 5C-5D show a tab (560) that mechanicallyinterfaces with a slot (555). The spring force of the tab forces the tabinto the slot, creating friction between the downward face of the taband the bottom of the slot. Further, mechanical contact between thesides of the tab and the sides of the slot prevent motion of the springclip and fix it in a desired position. FIGS. 14A-14B show mechanicalinterfaces where the flexible protruding portion (1430) presses inwardinto the indentions (1450) in the bar (1440). The mechanical interfacein this case includes friction contact, with normal forces at theinterface resulting in friction that holds the spring clip (1420) inplace. The normal force and the friction increase as pressure is appliedto move the spring clip from one position to the next, until theprotruding portion moves into the next indention.

The examples given above are used to illustrate the principles describedand claimed herein, but do not limit the principles to the specificexamples. The principles may be applied in any of a number of ways toform a shiftably adjustable mechanism that secures the spring clip tothe face plate in multiple fixed positions, while providing for thespring clip to be movable between the positions.

FIGS. 16D and 16E show one illustrative example of a system (1660) thatincludes a face plate (1615), an electrical contact (1634) and a supportstructure (1630) that interfaces with the face plate (1615) and supportsthe electrical contact (1634). The electrical contact (1634) isrepositionable with respect to the face plate (1615) along two distinctaxes.

FIG. 16D shows three distinct axes that are referenced to the installedposition of a cover plate over the outlet (see e.g. FIGS. 7A, 7B). Inthe installed position, the depth axis is in the Y direction, thehorizontal axis is in the Z direction, and the vertical axis is in the Xdirection. The depth axis refers to the depth of the electrical contactfrom the front of the wall or the face plate. The horizontal axis refersto the position of the electrical contact horizontally. The verticalaxis refers to the position of the electrical contact along a verticalline that is parallel to the face plate and or wall surface.

The support structure (1630) may include any of a variety of elements,including flexible metal, insulation, bases, uprights, etc. For example,the support structure may include the spring clip (1620, FIG. 16A) andthe base (1610, FIG. 16A). As shown in FIG. 16D, the electrical contact(1634) may be repositionable with respect to the face plate along twoorthogonal axes (e.g. X and Y axes, Z and X axes, Y and Z axes, or allthree axes).

The electrical contact (1634) can have any of a variety of shapes asappropriate for the application. For example, the electrical contact mayhave a shape similar to the electrical contact (340) shown in FIG. 3A,3D, 3G; the electrical contacts (710, 715, 820) shown in FIG. 7C-8; theelectrical contacts (2005) shown in FIGS. 20A-21C; any of the electricalcontacts (2302, 2304, 2306, 2307, 2308, 2310, and 2312) in FIGS.23A-23F; or the electrical contact (2402, FIGS. 24A-24E). These examplesare illustrative embodiments and do not limit the scope of theprinciples described or the scope of the claims.

The support structure may interface to the face plate in any of avariety of ways, including the multiplicity of those shown and describedherein. For example, the support structure may interface with the faceplate using detents, protrusions, slots, friction interfaces, a varietyof apertures or indentations, and/or other types of interfaces.

The support structure (1630) may interface with the face plate (1615)using any or all of the principles described herein with respect tomechanisms that use stakes or posts of any kind, including posts (348-1through 348-5) shown in FIGS. 3A-3C with mating apertures in the springclips (312); mechanisms that use detents (see e.g. 415, FIG. 4A) thatengage with notches or other indentations (see e.g. 420, FIG. 4A); andany of a wide range of protrusions that engage with slots, apertures, orother indentations, such as protrusions (515) shown in FIG. 5A thatengage with a slot (525, FIG. 5A). The support structure (1630) mayinterface with the face plate (1615) using principles described withrespect to any type of tabs or other resilient flexible elements thatengage with a wide range of apertures, slots or other indentations, suchas the slots (555, FIG. 5D) that engage with the tab (560, FIG. 5D); awide range of slots that engage with sliders such as the slot (1230,FIG. 12C) that engages with the slider (1235, FIG. 12C), and a widerange of other mechanisms and principles may be used such as a bar withindentations (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages with a protruding portion(1430, FIG. 14A), and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) that engageswith the base (1420, FIG. 14A). Further the support structure (1630) mayinterface with the face plate (1615) using any combination of theprinciples described above or in combination with other mechanisms orinterfacing elements.

The electrical contact may be repositionable with respect to the faceplate in any of a variety of ways, including mechanisms that allow thesupport structure to be repositioned along the face plate and mechanismsand principles that allow the electrical contact to move with respect tothe support structure. These mechanisms and principles may be thosedescribed herein, separately or in combination or in combination withother mechanisms or principles.

The support structure (1630) may flex to reposition the electricalcontact (1634) along a first axis. For example, the support structure(1630) may include a flexible metal portion (363) that flexes along theZ axis (an axis that is perpendicular to the side of a receptacle bodyso that motion along the Z axis is toward and away from the screwterminals). In alternative embodiments, the flexure may include a hinge(e.g. 1210, FIG. 12B) that allows the electrode to move along one ormore axes. The flexing of the support structure (1630) may also includea joint to move the electrical contact in one or more directions byrotating (see e.g. 615, FIG. 6A). This allows the electrical contact tobe repositioned in the X or Y axes (or in the XY plane as shown in FIG.16D). In other embodiments, the support structure (1630) may includeflexural elements such as tabs (560, FIG. 5D) or protruding elements(1430, FIG. 14A) or other flexural elements.

In some examples, there may be a releasable locking interface (1638)between the face plate (1615) and the support structure (1630). Thisreleasable locking interface (1638) releaseably locks the supportstructure (1630) along a second axis with respect to the face plate(1615).

The releasable locking interface (1638) may include a variety ofstructures, including a post or posts (348-1 through 348-5, FIGS. 3A-3C)that engage with the base (see e.g. 362, FIG. 3F; 1505, FIG. 15A); adetent (415, FIG. 4A) that engages with a notch or other indentation(420, FIG. 4A); a protrusion (515, FIG. 5A) that engages with a slot(525, FIG. 5A); slots (555, FIG. 5D) that engage with the tab (560, FIG.5D), a pad (955, FIG. 9C) that connects to a corresponding spring clippad (950, FIG. 9C); a slot (1230, FIG. 12C) that engages with a slider(1235, FIG. 12C); a bar (1440, FIG. 14A) that engages with a protrudingportion (1430, FIG. 14A); and/or a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) thatengages with the base (1420, FIG. 14A).

Further, any of these concepts could be combined with other concepts orhave additional elements introduced to form an adjustable electricalcontacts and/or adjustable spring clips or other support structures. Forexample, the principle of a tab (560, FIG. 5D) and slot (555, FIG. 5D)could be combined with a sliding grip (1470, FIG. 14B) to allow foreasier adjustment of a prong location. Pressure on the sliding grip(1470, FIG. 14B) could cause the tab (560, FIG. 5D) to disengage from afirst slot to a second slot (555, FIG. 5D). Thus, the releasable lockinginterface (1638) may take any of a variety of forms and include elementsfrom both the support structure (1630) and the face plate (1636). Insome examples, the releasable locking interface (1638) may allow forpositioning of the electrical contact (1634) at two or more positionsalong one or more axes. In the implementation shown in FIG. 16D, thereleasable locking structure (1638) provides for shiftable positioningalong the X axis. In many embodiments shown above, the releasablelocking interface (1638) may have a number of fixed positions in whichthe support structure (1630) and electrical contact (1634) may be lockedin. Thus, there are a variety of mechanisms that can be used as areleasable locking interface (1638) to lock the support structure indifferent positions along a second axis with respect to the face plate.This second axis may be in either the vertical axis, the horizontalaxis, or the depth axis. In most examples described above the secondaxis is along the vertical axis.

Additionally or alternatively, there may be a contact positioningmechanism (1640) that allows for the contact (1634) to be positioned asdesired along a second axis, for example, along the depth axis (alongthe Y axis as illustrated in FIG. 16D)). This contact positioningmechanism (1640) can be an interface between the electrical contact(1634) and the support structure (1630). This contact positioningmechanism may include the sliding cover (730, FIG. 7A-7D) that exposes adesired electrical contact (e.g. 710 or 715; FIG. 7A-7D). Additionallyor alternatively, the electrical contact may be large and the slidingcover (730, FIG. 7A-7D) may move to cover/insulate a portion of thecontact while leaving a second portion of the contact exposed to makecontact with the receptacle. In another illustrative embodiment of acontact positioning mechanism shown in FIG. 8, the body (810) mayinclude a slot (815) and the electrical contact (820) moves within theslot (815) to achieve the desired position. In yet another example, thesupport structure (610, 615, 625; FIGS. 6A-6C) may include a pivot (615,FIGS. 6A-6C) that allows the electrical contact to reach screw terminalsat varying depths along the Y axis by rotating the pivot and moving thecontact through an arc. The greater the arc, the more displacement ofthe contact in the Y axis direction.

In some examples, the two distinct axes along which the electricalcontact is repositionable with respect to the face plate may besubstantially orthogonal. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS.3B and 3C, the spring clips (310) are shown being adjusting in thevertical direction (along the vertical or X axis) by moving them overdifferent sets of posts (348-1 through 348-5). FIG. 3G shows the springclips (372) deflecting outward along the horizontal axis (along the Zaxis). FIGS. 4A-4D, FIGS. 5A-5B, FIGS. 12A-12D, and FIGS. 14A-14B showspring clips that adjust vertically and are configured to also deflecthorizontally. FIG. 6A-6C show an example of a spring clip (602) thatadjusts (rotates) in the vertical/depth plane (the XY plane). Thus thisspring clip (602) adjusts in the X axis and the Y axis. FIGS. 7A and 7Bshow a spring clip (705) that adjusts vertically along the face plate(755) and also adjusts the contact location in along the depth axis.FIGS. 7C-7D and FIG. 8 show spring clips have electrical contacts (710,715, 820) that adjust in the depth axis and flex to position in theelectrode in the horizontal axis. Substantially orthogonal axes are axesthat provide for adjustment in at least two directions or in a plane.Adjustment in the substantially orthogonal axes is not necessarilyalways independent (as illustrated by the rotating adjustment in FIGS.6A-6C). In some cases, the active cover plate may provide a differentmechanism for adjustment in each axis.

FIG. 16F is a system (1660) that includes an electrical receptacle(1650) with a screw terminal (1652). A face plate (1658) is fastenedover the electrical receptacle (1650). A spring clip (1656) includes asupport structure (1662) and a shiftably adjustable electrical contact(1654) supported by the support structure (1662). The shiftablyadjustable electrical contact (1656) is repositionable with respect tothe screw terminal (1652) in at least one of a vertical axis (X axis)and a depth axis (Y axis) to bring the shiftably adjustable electricalcontact (1654) into electrical connection with the screw terminal(1652).

The support structure (1662) may be shiftably adjustable along thevertical axis (X axis) with respect to a face plate (1658), therebyrepositioning the shiftably adjustable electrical contact (1654) alongthe vertical axis (X axis) with respect to the screw terminal (1652).The shiftably adjustable electrical contact (1654) may be adjustablypositionable on the support structure (1654) in the depth axis (Y axis),thereby repositioning the shiftably adjustable electrical contact (1654)along the depth axis with respect to the screw terminal (1652).

There are a variety of other configurations and elements that could beused. For example, a support structure (1662) may support an electricalcontact and allow the position of the electrical contact to be adjustedwith respect to the face plate. As described above, there may be one,two, three or more support structures that each support one or moreelectrodes and allow the position of the electrodes to be adjusted. Forexample, the support structure may move relative to the face plate in anX and/or Y direction. The support structure may move continuously in theX and/or Y direction or may have discrete positions along the path ofmotion. The support structure may engage or lock in the discretepositions to secure the position of the electrical contact with respectto the face plate. The support structure may provide for the position ofthe electrical contact to move in a Y direction. Again, the electricalcontact may be adjusted continuously or discretely in the Y direction.The support structure may also allow for the electrical contact to movein the Z direction. For example, the support structure may flex to allowthe electrical contact to move in the Z direction.

The support structure (1662) may include a number of elements includingan upright supporting element that rises in the Y direction from theface plate. The upright supporting element may have any of a number ofconfigurations, including those shown in the spring clips of FIGS. 3A,3D, 3E, 3F; the spring clip (350) illustrated in FIG. 3G; the partialspring clip (505) illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B; the partial springclip (540) illustrated in FIGS. 5C and 5D; the spring clip embodiment(602) shown in FIGS. 6A-6C, the spring clip embodiment (705) shown inFIGS. 7A-7D; the spring clip embodiment (800) shown in FIG. 8; thespring clip embodiment (945) shown in FIG. 9C; the spring clips (1220)shown in FIGS. 12A-12D; the spring clip (1420) illustrated in FIGS.14A-14B; the support structure (1630) and associated elements shown inFIGS. 16D-16E; the spring clips (2100) shown in FIGS. 20A-20C, 21A-21C,22; any of the spring clips (2300) shown in FIGS. 23A-23F; the springclips (2400) shown in FIGS. 24A-24E. Further, the concepts described canbe applied to adjust the position of a wide range of spring clips withdifferent geometries and configurations.

The support structure (1662) may include a base (1659) extending in theZ direction that is parallel to the surface of the face plate. Ingeneral, the base may mechanically connect with the face plate toadjustably secure the support structure to the face plate. The base maymechanically and adjustably connect to the face plate in a variety ofways, including post and hole connections, tab and slot connections,indentation and detent connections, protrusion and slot connections,slide connections, joint connections, clamp connections, articulatedconnections, latching connections, or other connections. The base mayinclude each of these connection types, individually, in combination, orin combination with connection types.

An upright supporting element (1657) of the support structure (1662)mechanically connects to electrical contact (1654). The uprightsupporting element may provide for adjustment of the electrical contactin the Y direction. In some examples, the upright supporting element maybe flexible and resilient to provide for flexural deflection in the Zdirection. Additionally or alternatively, entire support structure maymove in the Z direction with respect to the face plate.

Thus, in one embodiment, an active cover plate comprises a face plate,an electrical contact, a support structure mechanically and adjustablyconnected to the face plate and supports an electrical contact in anadjustable position with respect to the face plate. The supportstructure may further include a base, wherein the base mechanically andadjustably connects to the face plate. The support structure may furtherinclude an upright supporting element, wherein the upright supportingelement mechanically connects to the electrical contact.

FIGS. 17A-17D show various views of illustrative switch receptacles.FIGS. 17A and 17B show a front perspective view and a rear perspectiveview of a décor style rocker switch receptacle (1700) that includes arocker (1705), a metal bracket (1730) that surrounds the rocker, andbody portion (1710). Two screw terminals (1715, 1720) are located on theside of the body portion (1710). Additionally, a ground screw terminal(1725) is connected to the metal bracket (1730). The household wiring isconnected to the switch receptacle (1730) using the screw terminals(1715, 1720). For example, the hot and traveler wires can be connectedto the side screw terminals (1715, 1720). The ground wire iselectrically connected to the ground screw terminal (1725) which is partof the metal bracket (1730). Thus, the metal bracket (1730) may beelectrically grounded while the screw terminals (1715, 1730) may beconnected to a line voltage. The metal bracket (1730) also includesupper and lower yokes that provide support for screws to fasten theswitch receptacle to a receptacle box. In this example, as with manycommon rocker switch receptacles, the metal bracket (1730) entirelysurrounds the switch body, including a portion along the side of theswitch body below the screw terminals (1715, 1720).

FIGS. 17C and 17D show a side and rear view of a toggle switchreceptacle (1750) that includes a toggle (1765), a body portion (1770)with two side screw terminals (1772, 1775), a metal bracket (1760) and aground screw terminal (1755). Of note, the metal bracket (1760) iselectrically grounded when the ground screw terminal (1755) is connectedto a ground wire of the household wiring. The metal bracket (1760)extends around the switch body (1770), and includes grounded metalportions that are located directly below the screw terminals (1772,1775) and in between the toggle (1765) and the screw terminals (1772,1775).

FIGS. 18A-18C show various views of an active cover plate (1800) fordécor/rocker switch receptacles (e.g. 1700, FIGS. 17A, 17B). FIG. 18A isa rear view showing the face plate (1805) with spring clips (1815)extending rearward from the face plate (1805). A back plate (1810)covers the bases of the spring clips (1815), wiring, and internalcircuitry.

FIG. 18B shows a side view of the active cover plate (1800) and showsthe spring clips (1815) extending rearward from the face plate (1805).FIG. 18C is a front plan view of the active cover plate (1800) showingthe face plate (1805) with the spring clips (1815) visible through thecentral aperture. In this example, the active cover plate (1800) is aguidelight that includes light emitting diodes along the bottom edge. Aswitch/light sensor (1820) is also shown in the lower left corner of theactive cover plate. The switch allows the intensity of the lightemitting diodes to be adjusted and the light sensor beneath the switchsenses ambient light to control when the light emitting diodes or otherillumination elements turn on and off.

FIGS. 19A-19C show various views of an active cover plate (1900) fortoggle switch receptacles (e.g. 1750, FIGS. 17C, 17D). FIG. 19A is afront view showing the face plate (1905) and a switch/light sensor(1910) shown on the front of the face plate. FIG. 19B shows a side viewshowing the spring clips (1912) extending rearward from the face plate(1905). FIG. 19C is a perspective view of the active cover plate showingthe face plate (1905) with the spring clips (1915). The spring clips inthis example include two parts, a conductive portion (1920) and aninsulating portion (1915). The conductive portion (1920) forms a base, aflexible/resilient body of the spring clip, and the electrical contact.The insulating portion (1915) that include wings/ramps to assist inguiding the spring clips over the screw terminals and insulating shieldsto prevent undesirable electrical contact with the metal conductor(1920) by conductors in the surrounding area.

FIGS. 20A-20C show various views of a conductive portion (2000) of aspring clip that may be used in active cover plates for switchreceptacles. The geometry shown is only illustrative. A wide range ofalternative geometries may be used. The purpose of the conductiveportion (2000) is to make electrical contact with a side screw terminalof a switch or outlet receptacle. As discussed above, the conductiveportion (2000) can be formed from a single piece of metal sheet such asbeing stamped out of a copper alloy in a relatively soft state and thenhardened to a springy resilient state.

FIG. 20A shows a front perspective view of the conductive portion(2000). In this example, the conductive portion includes a contact(2005) designed to make contact with a side screw terminal, a base(2015), and a curved flexure (2010) connecting the contact (2005) to thebase (2015).

FIG. 20B shows a side view of the conductive portion (2000), with thecontact (2005), curved flexure (2010), and base (2015). The curvedflexure (2010) includes an elbow curve (2012) and a base curve (2016).The combination of these two curves (2012, 2016) allows the conductiveportion (2000) to fit around shoulders of switches or outletreceptacles. The base (2015) in this example shows a wire securingfeature (2020), however, the wire securing feature may take many formsor may not be present at all.

FIG. 20C shows a rear perspective view of the conductive portion (2000).This view shows barbed securing features (2025) along the sides of thecontact (2005). The contact (2005) in this example, is stamped out ofthe same piece of metal and is concave on the back side of theconductive portion (2000) and convex on the front side (the side facingthe screw terminal). The barbed features (2025) are designed to securean insulating portion over the conductive portion. The curved flexure(2010) also may include features to retain the insulating portion. Inthis example, there is a hole (2030) through the curved flexure (2010)that allows a front portion and a rear portion of the insulating elementto be connected together (see FIGS. 21A-C and FIG. 22).

The base (2015) may include wire securing features as discussed aboveand positioning features (2035) that assist in securing the base to theface plate. In some examples, the positioning features (2035) mayinclude apertures configured to accept posts extending from the faceplate.

FIGS. 21A-21C show various views of spring clips (2100) for use inactive cover plates for switch receptacles. FIG. 21A is an explodedassembly view of one example of a spring clip. As discussed above, thespring clips (2100) may include an insulating portion or hood (2102).The hood (2102) in this example is formed from a single piece ofelectrical insulating material and includes an upper portion (2140), arear insulating portion (2115), and a front insulating portion (2130).The upper portion (2140) includes a main ramp (2105), and two side ramps(2110). It also includes a cavity (2122) to receive the contact (2005).

The rear insulating portion (2115) is directly connected to the upperportion (2140). The rear insulating portion (2115) is connected to thefront insulating portion (2130) by a flexible portion (2125). Forexample, the flexible portion (2130) may be a joint or a living hinge.The rear insulating portion (2115) includes an aperture (2120) that isconfigured to receive a post (2135) on the front insulating portion(2130).

The front insulating portion (2130) is rotated about the hinge andupward toward the rear insulating portion (2115) as shown by the curvedarrow. The contact (2005) is inserted into the space between the rearinsulating portion (2115) and the front insulating portion (2130). Thecavity (2122) in the upper portion (2140) of the hood slips over thecontact (2005) and the barbs (2025) engage with the sides of the cavity(2122) to secure the hood (2102) onto the conductive element (2000). Therotation of the front insulating portion (2130) then continues until thepost (2135) fits through the aperture (2030) in the curved flexure(2010) and through the aperture (2120) in the rear insulating portion(2115). The post (2135) is then secured in place. For example, the post(2135) may be pressed so that it expands to fill the apertures (2030,2120) and secures the front insulating portion (2130) to the rearinsulating portion (2115). The post (2135) also helps to secure the hoodto the flexible element (1800).

FIGS. 21B and 21C are views of the assembled spring clip (2100). FIG.21B shows a front perspective view of the spring clip (2100). In thisview, the hood (2102) is installed over the conductive portion (2000),so that the ramps (2105, 2110) can guide the contact (2005) into placeover the screw terminal. The front insulating portion (2130) covers thefront of the conductive portion (2000) and the rear insulating portion(2115) covers the rear of the conductive portion (2000).

FIG. 21C shows a top view of the spring clip (2100), showing the post(2135) extending through the apertures and out of the rear insulatingportion (2115). The post (2135) can then be secured in place by any of anumber of techniques, including swaging, compressing, adhesive, or anyother suitable technique. Once it is secured in place, the frontinsulating portion (2130) and the rear insulating portion (2115)sandwich the flexible conductive portion (2010) between them. Theposition of the post (2135) is selected so that a significant amount ofthe flexibility of the flexible conductive portion (2010) is maintaineddespite being sandwiched between the front and rear insulating portions.This allows the spring clip (2100) to bend to accommodate various sizesand configurations of receptacles.

FIG. 22 is a bottom view showing a spring clip (2100) on an active coverplate (1800) making electrical contact with a screw terminal (1720) on arocker switch receptacle (1800). As shown in the figure, the spring clip(2100) is bent slightly rearward. The elbow (2012) allows the springclip (2100) to fit around the shoulder (1720) of the rocker switchreceptacle and the front insulation (2130) prevents the flexibleconductive element (2000) from shorting with the grounded metal bracket(1730).

FIGS. 23A-23F show various examples of electrical contact configurationsfor spring clips (2300). For example, a contact (2302) may have anoffset (2301) with respect to the face (2303) of the spring clip (2300)as shown in FIG. 23A. The contact (2304) may also be rotated by an angle(2305) with respect to the face (2303) of the spring clip as shown inFIG. 23B. There may be multiple electrical contacts (2306, 2307) on thespring clip (2300) as shown in FIG. 23C. FIGS. 23D, 23E, and 23F showillustrative examples of electrical contacts (2308, 2310, 2312) thatvary in size and location on the spring clip (2300). In general, theelectrical contact may be centered, off centered, symmetric in one ormore axes, asymmetric in one or more axes, and/or have a regular orirregular shape. The shape and position of the electrical contact can betailored to specific applications. For example, a specific shape may beused to avoid an obstacle or make contact with a specific portion of anelectrified screw terminal that is present in one or more installationsituations.

FIGS. 24A-24E show various views of one illustrative spring clip (2400)with an asymmetric electrical contact (2402). In this specific example,the electrical contact (2402) is not symmetric about an X-axis or Y-axison the face of the electrical contact, but has symmetry with respect toa coordinate system rotated at some angle with respect to the firstcoordinate system. FIG. 24A shows a front perspective view of the springclip (2400) showing an electrical contact (2402) that has an ellipsoidshape rotated at an angle with respect to the face (2401) of the springclip. In this example, the ellipsoid is a section of a tri-axialellipsoid with the shortest semi-principal axis perpendicular to theface of the spring clip. As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 21A,21B, and 21C, the spring clip also includes a hood (2410) which includesa rear insulating portion (2404), and a front insulating portion (2408).Also shown is flexible conductive material (2406). The electricalcontact (2402) may be formed from the sheet of material or may be formedseparately or from a different material.

FIG. 24B is a top view of the spring clip (2400) showing a base formedfrom the flexible conductive material (2406) with holes for alignmentposts. Also shown is the post (2403) that connects the front insulation(2404) to the back insulation (2404). FIG. 24C shows a frontal view ofthe spring clip (2400). The hood (2410) covers portions of the flexibleconductor around the electrical contact (2402) and makes a smoothtransition between the surface of the electrical contact and the surfaceof the hood. This smooth profile prevents the spring clip (2400) fromcatching on surfaces of receptacles or screw terminals. FIG. 24D is aside view of the spring clip (2400), showing the flexible conductivematerial (2405) sandwiched between front insulation (2408) and rearinsulation (2404) of the hood (2410). FIG. 24E is a bottom view of thespring clip (2400) showing the electrical contact (2402) protruding fromthe face of the spring clip and surrounded by the hood (2410). The frontof the spring clip is covered by the front insulation (2408).

As discussed above, there may be a variety of considerations thatinfluence the size, location, and orientation of the electrical contact.The principle purpose of the electrical contact is to make an electricalconnection with a screw terminal without undesirable contact with othermaterials. The size/orientation of the contact may be configured tocontact screw terminals or screw heads that have different locations,avoid shorting with other components, allow for easy installation, orother considerations.

The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate anddescribe examples of the principles described herein. This descriptionis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit these principles to anyprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cover plate for an electrical receptacle, thecover plate comprising: a first conductive element, wherein the firstconductive element: protrudes rearward from the cover plate; and isconfigured to contact a first terminal of a receptacle, wherein thefirst terminal is configured to connect the receptacle to a powersource; a first insulating cover over a portion of the first conductiveelement to inhibit the first conductive element from contactingconducting materials other than the first terminal; a second conductiveelement, wherein the second conductive element: protrudes rearward fromthe cover plate; and is configured to contact a second terminal of thereceptacle, wherein the second terminal is configured to complete theconnection of the receptacle to the power source; a second insulatingcover over a portion of the second conductive element to inhibit thesecond conductive element from contacting conducting materials otherthan the second terminal; and an electrical load in the cover plate,wherein the load is electrically connected to the first terminal throughthe first conductive element and is electrically connected to the secondterminal through the second conductive element.
 2. The cover plate ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second conductive elements bend outwardas the first and second conductive elements come in contact with thefirst and second terminals of a receptacle, wherein the first insulatorand second insulating covers prevent the first and second conductiveelements from electrically contacting an electrical box or wires in theelectrical box when the first and second conductive elements bendoutward.
 3. The cover plate of claim 1, further comprising wiringembedded within the cover plate, wherein the wiring connects: the firstconductive element; the load; and the second conductive element.
 4. Thecover plate of claim 1, wherein the receptacle comprises at least one ofan outlet or a switch.
 5. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein the firstinsulating cover is placed over an end of the first conductive elementand the second insulating cover is placed over an end of the secondconductive element.
 6. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein the loadincludes a motion sensor.
 7. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein theload includes a smoke detector.
 8. The cover plate of claim 1, whereinthe load includes a speaker.
 9. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein theload includes a carbon monoxide detector.
 10. The cover plate of claim1, wherein the load comprises a light source and the cover plate furthercomprises a user controlled switch to dim the light source.
 11. A coverplate for an electrical receptacle, the cover plate comprising: a firstconductive element, wherein the first conductive element: protrudesrearward from the cover plate; and is configured to contact a firstterminal of a receptacle, wherein the first terminal connects thereceptacle to a power source, wherein the first conductive element bendsoutward as it contacts the first terminal; a first insulator, whereinthe first insulator inhibits the first conductive element fromcontacting conducting materials other than the first terminal; a secondconductive element, wherein the second conductive element: protrudesrearward from the cover plate; and is configured to contact a secondterminal of the receptacle, wherein the second conductive element bendsoutward as it contacts the second terminal, wherein the second terminalcompletes the connection of the receptacle to the power source; a secondinsulator, wherein the second insulator inhibits the second conductiveelement from contacting conducting materials other than the secondterminal; an electrical load in the cover plate; and electricalcomponents embedded within the cover plate, wherein the electricalcomponents connect: the first conductive element to the load; and thesecond conductive element to the load.
 12. The cover plate of claim 11,wherein the first insulator comprises an insulating tab.
 13. The coverplate of claim 11, wherein the first insulator and second insulatorcomprise insulating covers disposed over terminal ends of the first andsecond conductive elements.
 14. The cover plate of claim 13, wherein thefirst insulator and second insulator prevent the first and secondconductive elements from electrically contacting an electrical box orwires in the electrical box when conductive elements bend outward. 15.The cover plate of claim 11, wherein the first insulator comprises aninsulating cover, wherein the insulating cover includes: an insulatingmaterial that covers at least a portion of the first conductive element;and an opening in the insulating material where the first conductiveelement contacts the first terminal.
 16. A cover plate for an electricalreceptacle, the cover plate comprising: a faceplate, wherein thefaceplate: is configured to cover an opening of an electrical box; andincludes an aperture, wherein the aperture is configured to provideaccess to the receptacle within the electrical box; a first conductiveelement, wherein the first conductive element: protrudes rearward fromthe faceplate; and is configured to contact a first terminal of thereceptacle, wherein the first terminal connects the receptacle to apower source, wherein the first conductive element bends outward as itcontacts the first terminal; a second conductive element, wherein thesecond conductive element: protrudes rearward from the faceplate; and isconfigured to contact a second terminal of the receptacle, wherein thesecond conductive element bends outward as it contacts the secondterminal, wherein the second terminal completes the connection of thereceptacle to the power source; a light source connected to thefaceplate, wherein the light source is configured to: convert electricalpower to light; and project the light from the faceplate; and wiringembedded within the faceplate, wherein the wiring connects: the firstconductive element to the light source; and the second conductiveelement to the light source.
 17. The cover plate of claim 16, whereinthe light source includes at least one light emitting diode.
 18. Thecover plate of claim 17, wherein the light source includes a bank oflight emitting diodes.
 19. The cover plate of claim 16, furthercomprising a first insulating cover placed over an end of the firstconductive element and a second insulating cover placed over an end ofthe second conductive element.
 20. The cover plate of claim 16, whereinthe light source is configured to project the light onto a nearby wall.